Every industry has its fair share of pain points. In the shipping and logistics sector, however, an inability to address these challenges can translate to severe disruptions in the supply chain and lead to considerably unhappy customers.
Let's take a look at the elements that managers simply can't stand, and the best ways to sidestep these problems and put the organization back on the road to success:
A recent study from Capgemini found that the leading concern among today's shipping and logistics managers is cutting transportation costs. This issue comes in connection with rising fuel prices, which can result in increasing surcharges for each individual shipment.
These costs can quickly add up, so managers need a way to ensure that they are getting the absolute best price available. It's important for shipping and logistics stakeholders to engage in rate shopping, and compare costs according to different modes and carriers, to help get the most value and reduce expenditures.
GUIDE TO TMS - Reducing Freight & Shipping
Interestingly, many shipping managers have more data available to them than ever before. As Ashiya Salim, contributor for IT consulting firm Fingent pointed out, shipping stakeholders see all types of facts and figures each day, including those associated with current inventory, scheduled shipments, fleet loading, route maps, fuel prices and more.
At the same time, there is a crucial lack of visibility when it comes to analyzing all of this available data and transforming it into valuable, actionable insights for decision makers. One of the best ways to avoid this pressing issue is to use intelligent software solutions that can provide key shipping and logistics reporting and analytics.
In this way, information coming in won't just include rows of numbers, but details that can help managers analyze their carrier relationships, view trends in historical shipment data and complete invoice auditing.
Today's shipping and logistics managers utilize an array of different software platforms to support daily operations - from enterprise resource planning to inventory management systems and beyond. When these elements aren't united into a single system free of siloes, however, it can contribute to reduced productivity and higher potential for human error.
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In this way, managers need a system that can enable in-depth and beneficial integrations, tying together the transportation management system with the customer relationship management solution, the order system, and other key platforms.
These issues, particularly when they come up again and again, are enough to drive any logistics manager up the wall. With robust support from an industry-leading TMS that enables cost savings, visibility and analytics as well as integration with key systems, managers can put these concerns to rest.
For more information, check out our shipping software guide.